writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax scheme for tax defaulters to end on Sep...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax scheme for tax defaulters to end on Sep...: Chennai: If you haven ’t paid your  taxes in the past, you still  have time till September 30  to pay taxes under Income  Declaratio...

Income Tax scheme for tax defaulters to end on Sept 30

Chennai:

If you haven’t paid your taxes in the past, you still have time till September 30 to pay taxes under Income Declaration Scheme, 2016.

The scheme which has come into effect from June 1, 2016, is open for another couple of weeks. Under the scheme, the amount can be paid in instalments viz. 25 per cent of the total amount payable by November 30; another 25pc by March 31 next year and balance 50pc by September 30.

Income Tax Commissioner Meenakshi J Goswami said that there would be no more extension of the scheme. She said that an option has been provided to the declarants to file the declaration under the Scheme electronically under digital signature with the Commissioner of Income-tax, Centralised Processing Centre, Bengaluru . 

“In case the declarant exercises the said option the declaration shall not be shared with the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under the Income-Tax Act,” the release added..

writingonblog uncensored: TN girls breaking the traditional barriers to don ...

writingonblog uncensored: TN girls breaking the traditional barriers to don ...: C Shivakumar @Chennai, Sept  10: Chennai: It was a dream fulfilled for  Chennai girl V Saranya as her  epaulettes were adorned with ...

TN girls breaking the traditional barriers to don olive green

C Shivakumar @Chennai, Sept 10:

Chennai:

It was a dream fulfilled for Chennai girl V Saranya as her epaulettes were adorned with two stars each with her proud parents brimming with pride.

The Sastra College alumni, who was a graduate from Electronics and Communication, gave up an offer from TCS and chose the olive green, which she nurtured since her college days when she joined National Cadet Corps.

Interestingly, Saranya is one among the several Tamil girls who are slowly breaking the traditional barriers when it comes to joining the armed forces. Her mother Neela, who was a teacher in Sivakami Hindu Nadar Matriculation School here, says that initially she was afraid of her daughter joining the army.

“But now we are okay,” she says. Born in a traditional Tamil Brahmin family, it would have been difficult for her to break the barrier, had it not been for the support from her parents. Interestingly, many Tamil parents are shy to let their daughters join the forces as it would be difficult to find grooms. However, things are changing with a separate defence matrimony website, a parent confides.

Although, there was only one girl who passed out from Officers Training Academy last year, this year the number has gone up to two. And may be by next year, it would cross further. 

Usually, it is the wards of those in service who would prefer to join the army and many of the women in Tamil Nadu are not aware of Officers Training Academy, says Saranya.

“I got motivated through my NCC unit commander Col Prakash Dharan,” says the engineering graduate, who also represented the state in Republic Day Parade while in NCC. Interestingly, three of her friends did try to gain entry in Officers Training Academy but they were not successful

writingonblog uncensored: Metro Rail stretch between Little Mount to Airport...

writingonblog uncensored: Metro Rail stretch between Little Mount to Airport...: Chennai: Chennai Metro Rail is likely  to start its commercial  operations in the 8.33km  Chennai Airport-Little Mount  stretch next m...

Metro Rail stretch between Little Mount to Airport is likely to be opened next month

Chennai:

Chennai Metro Rail is likely to start its commercial operations in the 8.33km Chennai Airport-Little Mount stretch next month only after completing the few corrections suggested by Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).

It is learnt that Chennai Metro Rail will comply with the recommendations put forth by CMRS in the next few weeks. The CMRS inspected the stretch and stations in the last week of July and gave his approval but stressed on few corrections like electrification of the stretch, additional signages, reduction in speed limit as well as adjusting the dimensions of the platform.

“The work is going on. It will take further two weeks to comply with it, sources added.

writingonblog uncensored: CBI arrests Indian Audit and Accounts Service offi...

writingonblog uncensored: CBI arrests Indian Audit and Accounts Service offi...: Chennai: Central Bureau of  Investigation arrested an  officer of Indian Audit and  Accounts Service and two  others in a Rs 1.67 cror...

CBI arrests Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer in disproportionate assets case

Chennai:

Central Bureau of Investigation arrested an officer of Indian Audit and Accounts Service and two others in a Rs 1.67 crore disproportionate wealth case.

A Pramasivan, who was director in the office of Director General of Audit (General Expenditure) in New Delhi was arrested along with his brother-in-law Sivaram Thilagar and his father-in-law Thangapandian on September 6 after a case was registered on October 9, 2014 against Paramasivan and his relatives for amassing wealth disproportionate to their income.

CBI said that the case is an offshoot of earlier case when Paramasivan who had deputed his brother-in-law Sivaram to collect bribe from R Hariharan, a liaison officer for MIOT Hospital in Manapakkam. Sivaraman was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh on behalf of Paramsivan for not harassing the institution for alleged deficiencies in records.

Interestingly, that case is now pending trial in CBI Court. CBI said that during searches in the trap case an amount of Rs.97.96 lakh was recovered from Sivaram Tilagar’s house. Paramasivan, his brother-in-law and Thangapandi are found to be involved in amassing Disproportionate Assets.

All the three have been remanded to judicial custody till September 21.

writingonblog uncensored: OTA wants Metro station in its name

writingonblog uncensored: OTA wants Metro station in its name: Chennai: The Officers Training Academy  wants the Nanganallur Road  Metro Station to be named as  OTA station as a mark of  tribute to t...

writingonblog uncensored: IIT given Rs 65 lakh contract by CMDA to develop O...

writingonblog uncensored: IIT given Rs 65 lakh contract by CMDA to develop O...: Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology , Madras, will help Chennai  Metropolitan Development  Authority design a software  which will ens...

IIT given Rs 65 lakh contract by CMDA to develop Online single Window system

Chennai:

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, will help Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority design a software which will ensure approval of buildings through the online single window system in the next two years at a cost of Rs 65.28 lakh.

The entire process would be carried out in two phases. Under the first phase, system integration study will be carried out after which the software will be developed in the second phase. The entire process will take two years.

This would mean that CMDA will have a single window clearance system only in March 2018. The single window system for processing planing permissions applications as well as building permit application has been made mandatory by the Centre for accessing funds under ‘Housing for All’ scheme. 

IIT Madras will be engaging full time project coordinator, software engineer, civil engineer or architect for undertaking the study.

Sources said the proposal to allow IIT conduct system integration study and development of software for the web enabled single window system was cleared during the Authority meeting of CMDA held recently.

Usually, a developer for carrying out any development activity has to obtain planning permission from CMDA and also has to obtain building permit from local bodies like Corporation or municipality or town panchayat or village panchayat. Although planning permission and building permit are inter-related their processing involves multiple agencies and multiple activity. This is time consuming for a developer and sometimes the process takes more than six months to a year for getting the approval.

It is learnt that IIT’s system integration study is focused on formulating a seamless and hassle free environment for ‘Web enabled Single Window Online submission, processing and disposal of planning permission applications, building permit application, completion certificates and occupancy certificates by integrating the existing system.

IIT was approached by CMDA after none of the tenderer was qualified enough to carry out the system integration study and development of software when tender was floated on September 2015.

Besides Single window clearance of planning permission application, IIT will also develop a software for change of land use through online single window system in a manner through which online application, payments, tracking of status and issuance of certificates are tracked.

writingonblog uncensored: OTA wants Metro station in its name

writingonblog uncensored: OTA wants Metro station in its name: Chennai: The Officers Training Academy  wants the Nanganallur Road  Metro Station to be named as  OTA station as a mark of  tribute to t...

OTA wants Metro station in its name

Chennai:

The Officers Training Academy wants the Nanganallur Road Metro Station to be named as OTA station as a mark of tribute to the more than 53-year-old institution which nurtures budding officers for the Indian army, according to commandant of Officers Training Academy Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews.

Speaking to Express here on Wednesday, Mathews said that he had met the state chief secretary in this regard. “Both sides of the land where the station is coming belongs to the Defence Ministry.  We have requested the state government to change the name of the station to OTA metro station,” the general, who has been awarded chief of army staff commendation twice and Vishist Seva Medal for distinguished service, said.

When Express contacted Chennai Metro Rail officials on what action is being taken to rename the Nanganallur Road metro station to OTA, it was learnt that the request is being considered.

“We have considered the request and sent it to state government. The government has to decide on it,” said Metro Rail sources.

The station is among the elevated station coming up along corridor I of Chennai Metro (Washermenpet to Chennai International Airport stretch) and will serve the eighbourhoods Alandur , Nanganallur and St. Thomas Mount, among others.

The elevated stretch which passes right opposite the gate of OTA has taken away away the sheen from the rather imposing gates.

Officer Training School at Madras was raised on January 15, 1963 after India felt the need to train emergency commission officers to cater for rapid accretion after the post-Sino-India war.

writingonblog uncensored: OTA prepares cadets for hi-tech warfare

writingonblog uncensored: OTA prepares cadets for hi-tech warfare: Chennai; Guns lay positioned neatly on  a mat. In front is a screen  which displays the targets.  The lights are switched off  and all one...

OTA prepares cadets for hi-tech warfare

Chennai;

Guns lay positioned neatly on a mat. In front is a screen which displays the targets. The lights are switched off and all one has to do is take a aim at the target. 

The target could be anything from a terrorist in a counter insurgency operation to a target in the firing range. And this virtual reality is sharpening the marksmanship skills of Officers Training Academy (OTA) cadets who are being nurtured through the simulator which was introduced few months ago.

“The simulator has brought in a remarkable change in the firing skills of cadets,” says Baboo Khan, an honorary lieutenant from Rajput Rifles who has been training the cadets. Once the cadetrs get the feel of the guns through the simulator then they are being taken to firing range in Hanumanthapuram, which is being offered to OTA on a yearly basis.

Interestingly, simulators are preferred by various armies across the world to train the soldiers and in OTA it is being used for training (to maintain readiness), analysis (of the effects of proposed tactics or system acquisitions), planning and rehearsal of operations and demonstration of new technologies.

The simulators do capture war like scenarios and some have counter-insurgency themes. It just puts the cadet on real battle like situation, says Brigadier Manoj Natrajan.

The simulator in Officers Training Academy is developed indigenously in Bangalore. And commandant of OTA Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews hopes to bring in more technology into the training and plans to network the entire OTA.

Cadets in OTA are also learning about the art of cyberwarfare and have sophisticated computers. The cyber warfare courses which was only introduced in 2009 or 2010 are more of defending from cyber attack rather than the offence. “We don’t teach them about hacking or other aspects. The idea is to teach them on how to safeguard their systems from any sort of attack, says Brig Natrajan. 

While, OTA is preparing the cadets in the art of technology reklated warfare, it is struggling to get the engineering graduates in the south. “Only 17 per cent of officers are from south,” says Lt Gen Bobby Matthews, who has launched an awareness programme by visiting colleges in south about a career in the army. He says of the 17 per cent , more than 50 per cent of officers are from service background.

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Airport to save 1300 tonnes of air fuel wi...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Airport to save 1300 tonnes of air fuel wi...: Chennai: Chennai Airport would be able to save 1,300 tones of air fuel besides reducing carbon emissions to the tune of 4,000 tonnes per...

Chennai Airport to save 1300 tonnes of air fuel with segregation of ATC handling arrival, departure of aircraft

Chennai:

Chennai Airport would be able to save 1,300 tones of air fuel besides reducing carbon emissions to the tune of 4,000 tonnes per year with segregation of air traffic controllers handling arrival and departure of aircraft.

Sylvester Israel, General Manager Air Traffic Management, Chennai told Express that earlier there was a single air traffic controller who would be handling both departures and arrivals.

This resulted in the airport handling only 29 aircraft per year but with the segregation now there will be a separate air traffic controller handling the departure and another for arrival.

As a result the efficiency of the airport would be increased significantly. “Now a total of 32 aircraft (both arrival and departure) can be handled per hour. We will increase it to 36 aircraft per hour,” he said.

This could save fuel as air traffic controllers can plan landing and departures by spacing between two aircraft.

Similarly, there is a plan to bifurcate the  Oceanic airspace of Chennai which  spans an area of around 4,00,000 Square nautical miles through which around 400 International Overflying aircraft transit daily using the 14 International routes providing the vital connectivity between East and Western parts of the Globe .

He said Airport Authority of India, Chennai, has undertaken the project of Sectorising the Oceanic Airspace on trial basis. The airspace is  split into two sectors after assessing the workload of the controllers, traffic density in each sector , number of  traffic conflict points requiring controllers’ intervention  and the communication or surveillance facilities  available in each sector. 

The project which will be implemented after three  phases  of trial operations  after Regulatory Safety Assessments,  will go a long way  not only in alleviating the workload of controllers but also in improving  operational efficiency of Air Navigation Service in the Oceanic Airspace  and enabling aircraft to obtain their optimum flight profile with enhanced safety .

writingonblog uncensored: 65 PSUs in TN record turnover of Rs 87,083crore, s...

writingonblog uncensored: 65 PSUs in TN record turnover of Rs 87,083crore, s...: Chennai: Sixty five Public Sector Units in Tamil Nadu registered a turnover of Rs 87,083.36 crore, which is equal to 8.92pc of state's ...

65 PSUs in TN record turnover of Rs 87,083crore, says CAG report

Chennai:

Sixty five Public Sector Units in Tamil Nadu registered a turnover of Rs 87,083.36 crore, which is equal to 8.92pc of state's Gross Domestic Product, according to the report of Comptroller and Auditor General.

The report also said that of the 65 PSUs, 41 PSUs earned a profit of Rs 1,979.79 crore and 20 PSUs incurred a loss of Rs 16,833.24 crore. Heavy losses were incurred by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (13,985.03 crore) and all state transport corporations (Rs 2,654crore).

    The report also said that there are seven non-working PSUs including one under liquidation. the report also hit at quality of accounting in PSUs. During the year, out of 57 accounts finalised, the statutory auditors of government companies gave unqualified certificates for 29 accounts, qualified certificates for 27 accounts and adverse opinion in respect of one account. There were 52 instances of non-compliance with accounting standards.

India to set up National Cyber Security Coordination Centre to secure country’s cyberspace

Chennai:

India will be setting up National Cyber Security Coordination Centre (NCCC) to fully secure the country’s cyber space and strengthen the country’s cyber security posture, according to Union Minister for Information and Communication Technology and Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad

Speaking during the Regional Editors’ Conference at Chennai here on Wednesday, Prasad said that NCCC will ensure near real time threat assessment and situational awareness that will help in analysis and generation of timely alerts and periodic reports.

The minister said that NCCC Project has been approved for implementation and technical approach and implementation plan has been prepared.

Prasad said that a massive training programme will be undertaken to train the police officers and personnel at police stations across the country.

Apart from the police, the important organs of the government including the judicial officers will be sensitized adequately on this issue.

On the Omnibus Bill by United States which introduces hefty bill H1B visas and L1 visas, he said the issue is being taken up with US officials. NASSCOM has predicted that the hike in visa bills will result in loss of Rs 400 crore.

The minister also said the consumption of electronic goods in India is worth $80billion. By 2020, the consumption would increase to $400 million.

He also said that during the current financial year mobile phones worth Rs 94,000 crore will manufactured when compared to Rs 54,000 crore worth of mobile devices manufactured last year.

He said linking Aaadhar with bank accounts under has saved the country Rs 36,500 crore in the last two years which could have gone to middlemen.

Giving a digital profile of India he said that the country boasts of 104 crore Aadhaar users, 103 crore mobile phones and 40 Crore internet users which may soon touch the mark of 50 crore internet users.

He said that 50 financial institutions including Barclays, Citibank and others have shown keen interest in Postal department’s Payment Bank branches to reach out to rural India.

He said the government is planning to strengthen 2.50 lakh village panchayats through optical fibre network, which was started in 2011. For three years, total network laid was 358 kms, but in the last two years 1,39,000 kms was covered and around 57,000 plus village panchayats were covered.  States like Kerala are covered fully, by next year the Government plans to cover the entire panchayat.

The second step would be common service centres and extending them to have Internet service centres to offer entire service through internet

writingonblog uncensored: Indian exports dip by 15.5pc, fall arrested says C...

writingonblog uncensored: Indian exports dip by 15.5pc, fall arrested says C...: Chennai: Indian exports have dipped by  15.5 per cent in the year  2015-16 and the Union  Commerce Minister Nirmala  Sitharaman has said...

Indian exports dip by 15.5pc, fall arrested says Commerce minister

Chennai:

Indian exports have dipped by 15.5 per cent in the year 2015-16 and the Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that although the fall has been arrested but the growth of exports will be slow and steady.

Speaking during the Second day of Regional Editors Conference organised by Press Information Bureau here on Friday, Sitharaman said that exports during the last financial year valued at $ 262.30 billion had registered a 15.5pc decline but 12 sectors recorded positive growth in value terms.

To a query on how what is the expected growth of exports this financial year, she said it is hard to speculate. However, she said that her ministry was looking into diversification of export product basket, diversification into non-traditional markets and conclusion of ongoing free trade agreement negotiations and initiating new free trade agreements for promotion of exports.

The minister said that four new projects have been set up in Tamil Nadu under ASIDE, one Project has been approved in Kerala and two Projects were approved in Karnataka and two projects in Andhra Pradesh.

Sitharaman also said that manufacturing sector grew at 9.3pc in 2015-16, much higher than the 5-6pc growth in previous three financial years and was the major contributor to the healthy 7.6% growth of GDP in 2015-16.

writingonblog uncensored: NIOT’s ROV likely to search for missing IAF aircra...

writingonblog uncensored: NIOT’s ROV likely to search for missing IAF aircra...: Chennai: The Remotely Operated  Underwater Vehicle (ROV) of  National Institute of Ocean  Technology’s research vessel ‘ Sagarnidhi’ is ...

NIOT’s ROV likely to search for missing IAF aircraft from Sept 12

Chennai:

The Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV) of National Institute of Ocean Technology’s research vessel ‘Sagarnidhi’ is likely to begin its underwater search of the 15 possible locations where the where the debris of Indian Air Force transport aircraft AN32, that went missing along with 29 crew on July 22, on September 12.

Defence sources told Express that of the 15 locations, they could zero it down further for the search operations by ROV which can go to the depth of 3,500 metre. The 15 locations were zeroed down from 150 probable locations which had variables in depth using multi-beam echo sounder and side scan sonar by both research vessels Sagarnidhi and Geological Survey of India’s vessel Samudra Ratnakar..

It is learnt that NIOT only has the ROV which can up to such depth. It is learnt that (ROV)-(ROSUB 6000), which has been designed and developed at National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in joint collaboration with Experimental Design Bureau of Oceanological Engineering (EDBOE), Russia, has alredy been successfully tested at a maximum depth of 5256m where it sampled manganese nodules in Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). 

The underwater vehicle has six degrees of freedom and operated and controlled from a surface station. It is propelled and controlled by seven thrusters, which have speed controllability and reversibility. The controls are guided by the information from feedback sensors, which collect data on the ambient environment and supply it to a host computer in control console. 

The data is filtered, processed and used as an input to computer software developed in LabView which generates corresponding control signals to enable the ROV to perform the maneuvers.

Sources said that each probable location (15 of those which were selected) would take the ROVs atleast two days to study. So it is unlikely that all the 15 locations would be searched, said sources..

The camera s would scan the area and would take pictures and capture the videos of the locations, which had been scanned by both Sagarnidhi and Geological Survey of India vessel Samudra Ratnakar.

The biggest handicap for the search operation is that neither the emergency locator transmitter nor the sonar locating beacon (SLB) is functional. Meanwhile, a meeting has been called on Tuesday to work out a strategy on how to go about the search operations, sources said.

Chennai Airport tries to be on par with Dubai airport, offers customised services

Chennai:

If your child is unaccompanied or your mother is sick while flying from any part of the world to Chennai all you have to do is inform ‘Meet and Greet Services’ in Chennai Airport and officials would make arrangements so that the near and dear ones can be picked up from the aircraft and ensure they reach home safely with utmost care.

The value added service for air passengers in both international and domestic terminals have been launched in Chennai Airport from this month by Airport Director Deepak Shastri who said the customised services would benefit the passengers immensely.

Modelled on the Marhabba services being offered at Dubai International Airport, these services would cost the passengers depending upon the packages they choose from, said Ambalika Saikia of ‘Meet and Greet Services’ project Globe Ground India, which bagged the contract.

“We will be charging a minimum Rs 500 for the service in domestic airport and Rs 750 for services in international airport. Besides providing porterage services to unaccompanied minors, elders or passengers who are unwell and physically challenged, our officials will also help in clearing airport formalities besides escorting international passengers for check-in and immigration requirements,” she said.

The agency will also be assisting in reservation and purchase of tickets. “We will also provide assistance for hiring a car, tax, hotel booking, arranging tickets, transportation from aircraft to the terminal building, she said.

The customised services as per travellers requirements will be provided by the agency in coordination with Airport Authority of India, which is well experienced in serving a wide segment of passengers that include VIPs, corporates, tourists, families and solo travellers. This will pave way for ensuring high standards of services and customer satisfaction to passengers travelling to and from Chennai airport, said Shastri.

writingonblog uncensored: Shipping Ministry to do away with Tariff Authority...

writingonblog uncensored: Shipping Ministry to do away with Tariff Authority...: Chennai: Shipping Ministry is planning  to do away with Tariff  Authority for Major Ports ( TAMP) by passing an amendment  to Major Port T...

Shipping Ministry to do away with Tariff Authority for state owned ports

Chennai:

Shipping Ministry is planning to do away with Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) by passing an amendment to Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 in the winter session of the Parliament, according to shipping secretary Rajive Kumar.

Speaking on the sidelines of second day of Regional Editors conference organised by Press Information Bureau here on Friday, Kumar said that the Shipping ministry wants to do away with TAMP to usher in a market driven pricing regime in the state-owned ports and put them on par with private ports..

Kumar also said that the government is planning to amend Merchant Shipping Act. The amendment will make the Merchant Shipping Act simpler, he said.

The amendment is proposed after India’s accession to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (Bunker Convention) of the International Maritime Organization [IMO] as well as to amend the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 to give effect to the Bunker Convention, Nairobi Convention and Salvage Convention.

The Bunker Convention ensures adequate, prompt, and effective compensation for damage caused by spills of oil, when carried as fuel in ships’ bunkers. The territorial jurisdiction for damage compensation extends to territorial sea and exclusive economic zones.

On single bouy mooring (SBM) system for loading and unloading of oil tankers by Chennai Petroleum corporation Limited, he said it is up to CPCL to decide but it is important as they will be handling more tankers as India has signed a historic deal to develop the strategically important Chabahar port, close to Iran's border with Pakistan

writingonblog uncensored: State transport undertakings failed to pay compens...

writingonblog uncensored: State transport undertakings failed to pay compens...: Chennai: State Transport Undertakings ( STUs) have not paid  compensation to accident  victims as directed by courts  despite setting up ‘...

State transport undertakings failed to pay compensation to accident victims for more than 10 years

Chennai:

State Transport Undertakings (STUs) have not paid compensation to accident victims as directed by courts despite setting up ‘Accident Claims Settlement Fund’, according to a report by comptroller and Auditor General. 

Many of the victims are still awaiting compensation from the state transport undertaking for more than 10 years which has failed to honour Motor Accident Compensation Tribunal.

It is learnt that state transport undertakings have not settled claims cases devided by various cases and the numbers increased from 11,721 involving Rs 224.49 crore as on March 31, 2010 to 16,797 cases involving Rs 435.07 crore as on March 31, 2015.

In addition there were 5,382 fatal (Rs 716.65 crore) and 22,702 injury cases (Rs 786.94 crore) totalling 28,084 accident claims amounting to Rs 1,504 crore which had not been decided upon by courts, the report stated

The report also stated that after pronouncement of awards of accident compensation by Motor accident Compensation Tribunal (MACT), the STUs failed to make payments of the awarded amount resulting in the claimants filing Execution Petition to enforce payments. As per audit analysis, there are 699 executive petitions involving Rs 25.64 crore awarded by the courts but not settled by two STUs till July 2015. 

Due to non-settlement of awarded cases by the state transport undertakings, 4,771 buses were impounded by various courts during the five year period ending March 2015. Of these, 4,771 buses impounded by various courts, 692 buses were not released as on march 2015. this resulted in loss of operation of 4.24 lakh days resulting in loss of contribution of rs 213.37 crore besides affecting the image of STUs adversely among public.

writingonblog uncensored: Failure of TN to come out with wind energy policy ...

writingonblog uncensored: Failure of TN to come out with wind energy policy ...: Chennai: The failure on part of the  state to come out with  comprehensive wind energy  policy has resulted in state  utilities Tamil Nadu...

Failure of TN to come out with wind energy policy hits state electricity board

Chennai:

The failure on part of the state to come out with comprehensive wind energy policy has resulted in state utilities Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited lacking directions from government for planning and procurement of wind energy, according to a report by Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Though Central Electricty Regulatory Commission mandated that the existing wind energy projects could schedule their energy generation by entering into agreement transmission utilities, teh relevant clauses were not included in any of the agreements with the 11,543 existing wind energy generators, the report stated.

The connected load of 80 sub-stations out of 115 sub stations exceeded their availabl;e transmission capacity which indicated absence of proper planning for optimum utilisation of the available capacity, the report added.

writingonblog uncensored: TN mulling whether to repeal Rent Act or implement...

writingonblog uncensored: TN mulling whether to repeal Rent Act or implement...: C Shivakumar: Chennai: The state government is  mulling on whether to enact  the Model Tenancy Act  proposed by Centre or just  repeal t...

TN mulling whether to repeal Rent Act or implement Model Tenancy Act

C Shivakumar:

Chennai:

The state government is mulling on whether to enact the Model Tenancy Act proposed by Centre or just repeal the the 45-years-old Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, which governs house rentals and tenancy.

The move comes after the Union government has urged the states states to amend the state rental acts on the lines of the Draft Model Tenancy Act 2015 by 2019. The Union Government has set amendment of the state’s rent control act on lines of the draft act as one of the conditions to avail funds for housing.

Officials in Housing department feel that the enactment of the Model Tenancy Act would require establishment of Rent control Authorities and Rent control Tribunals as provided in the Act which will lead to unnecessary administrative expenditure.

Sources said the provisions of the Model Tenancy Act can be met by merely repealing the existing Rent control Act since the law of contract is competent enough to deal with tenancy issues.

Officials feel that once the Model tenancy act is implemented then the rental lease agreements having a tenure of more than 11 months or having a monthly rental value of more than certain amount have to be compusarily registered in Tamil Nadu.

It is learnt that Tamil Nadu government officials are likely to hold discussions and take the view of law secretary before taking a final decision on whether to repeal the tenancy act or implement the Model Tenancy Act suggested by the Union government..

The model act drafted by the Central government has more owner-friendly features. For example, it allows the rental agreements to have a clause for periodic rental revision and also limits the right to possession of the tenant only to the time period mentioned in the agreement. Under the existing act, it is highly difficult to revise the rentals or get the tenant vacated, since the law gives much priority to right of possession of the tenant.

Coastguard seizes 17,000kg of ganja

Chennai:

The Indian Coastguard has seized 17,050 kg of Ganja off Fourth Island near Rameshwaram during a joint coordinated operation with customs and other security agencies.

Working on a tip off Coastguard station Mandapam launched combing operation by deploying hovercraft beached near Fourth Island which resulted in seizure of the eight packets of Ganja wrapped in brown paper and covered by polythene bags under the sand. However, no one was arrested in this connection.

It is suspected that the contraband could have been smuggled from Andhra Pradesh and could be on its way to Sri Lanka. A detailed investigation is being undertaken.